Overnight, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division posted additional answers to pressing questions regarding leave issues under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.  These Q&As address a number of recurring employer questions.

Documentation.  One of the topics addressed by the DOL includes required documentation to support the need for leave (which the

Yesterday afternoon, on March 25, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued its model notices that meet the requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”).  The DOL provided a model notice for private sector employees and for public employees.   All employers covered by the paid sick leave and

Late Tuesday afternoon, March 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued guidance in the form of 14 questions and answers on the new COVID-19 leave act.   Here is the link to the latest guidance. Some of the highlights are described below.

Although practitioners and commentators uniformly agreed that the act

On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, the EEOC released updated guidance titled “What You Should Know About the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and COVID-19.” The release may be accessed here: https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/wysk/wysk_ada_rehabilitaion_act_coronavirus.cfm.

Along with some specific new guidance, the EEOC references its 2009 publication titled “Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act”

On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, by a vote of 90 to 8, the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 6201 – the coronavirus paid leave bill.  The bill had bipartisan support and the support of both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the President.  President Trump signed the bill into law shortly after passage.

The House originally

Employees who experience a “COBRA-qualifying event” and would otherwise lose group health coverage are entitled to elect to continue their group health coverage under federal law – COBRA.  For those employers not covered by COBRA (who have fewer than 20 employees), Louisiana has a group health insurance continuation statute that also allows employees to continue

After midnight on March 14, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 6201, a 110 page, bipartisan coronavirus response bill.  The House approved the bill on a 363-40 vote and has President Trump’s support.  Included in the bill are comprehensive mandated paid leave provisions related to the coronavirus outbreak.  The Senate is expected to

Responses to the coronavirus that directly impact employers are making their way through Congress.  CBS and other news outlets are reporting on Congressional leaders’ negotiations regarding various measures that will directly impact employers.  These measures include paid emergency sick leave and disaster unemployment assistance.  See the attached link from CBS News regarding the Congressional response

In May the United States Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision in a trio of cases that concerned whether employers can lawfully use mandatory arbitration agreements containing provisions that preclude employees from pursuing employment claims on a class action basis – and instead require them to pursue their claims in an individual private arbitration proceeding

Employer compliance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been among the EEOC’s top enforcement priorities under the Trump Administration. And a string of recent enforcement actions brought by the EEOC makes clear that the Agency will continue to be aggressive with respect to how employers manage employee return to work